Use MFP as a meal planner

beloggins1

I use MFP to plan my daily meals. It lets me keep my caloric count in line as well as stay within my Protein, Carbs, Fat, Sugars and Cholesterol guideline goals. Takes the guess work out of what I'm going to eat and also seems to keep my mind from going on those wild craving rants. :happy:

fiendiish

That's not a bad idea. Thanks!

courtney_love2001

I found that before I came to MFP, I would think about food ALL the time. What am I eating next??? was constantly going through my mind. With MFP, I can plan ahead and not be so obsessed with food. It was a major turning point in my journey when I realized this! Yesterday I tried to do a test-run with no logging, and while I was pretty close to my recommended daily allowance, I was thinking about food all the time. :ohwell: Guess I just need more time to become comfortable with not logging!

BeautyNBriefcase

i wish i used your suggestion yesterday. i went to on the border and had queso chicken - a whopping 1130 calories. next time i'm using your suggestion. thx!

beloggins1

You know I will continue to log on even when I'm in maintenance mode. Actually I think that's the most important time. It's easy to take your eye off of the ball and fall back into bad habits. It just keeps food more pragmatic and believe me, I'm most definitely a "Foodie"! It allows me to be able to have the foods I want, but on a reasonable basis.

jaylu

i think this is the best thing about mfp! every morning or even sometimes the night before i sit down and plan my whole days food intake-this lets me make up my snack to take to work and know whats in it so im not at work and grabbing something from a vending machine and i can also leave meat out of the freezer to defrost in advance for that nights if need to...its great! i believe that pre planing i.e prevention of over eating, is better than getting to the end of the day and realizing that you've went way over on calories and then trying to work them off before bed instead of relaxing and enjoying loved ones company in the afternoon.

beloggins1

Totally agree with you. If I have a function or party to attend, I can plan my meals and snacks and "Bank" the calories that I estimate I will consume at the event. That way I balance out the calorie intake and don't go ballistic on that week's calorie goals! You still have to live your life and enjoy for this not to be a temporary fix. It just becomes the way you live and eat, naturally on a daily, year in - year out basis..

jurgitafit

Fantastic idea! I never thought of doing a reverse-- first planning it here, and then eating. :laugh: Great suggestion, I just need to remember it daily!

PJilly

I use MFP to plan my daily meals. It lets me keep my caloric count in line as well as stay within my Protein, Carbs, Fat, Sugars and Cholesterol guideline goals. Takes the guess work out of what I'm going to eat and also seems to keep my mind from going on those wild craving rants. :happy:

Me too. In fact, that's why I joined MFP — to use the food diary as a way to plan my meals, and it works amazingly well. I have a hard time understanding people who ask about nutritional info for foods they've already eaten so that they can log them after the fact. Isn't it kind of too late? :laugh: I do realize not everybody uses this site the same way I do, and I can certainly see how it could be beneficial for some to see what they've eaten, but it sure doesn't do anything for me.